For those who might not know, Iktomi, Coyote and Heyoka are well known American Indian characters. All three characters can reveal truth in unexpected ways.

– In Lakota legend, Iktomi, the Son of Inyan (Rock) was born full-grown from a cosmic egg. He is both a Spider and a Spider-like man. He was once wise but was turned to a life of trickery and deceit, and can sometimes be very harsh.

– Coyote is a trickster who often shows the people what not to do by doing it himself, usually with disastrous results.

– A Heyoka is a Lakota Indian sacred clown, one who does contrary things. A clown with high purposes, one who often uses humor to teach. The Heyoka might walk backwards and say goodbye instead of hello when they meet you. They also might say Yes when others say No and can sometimes say things that regular people can not, or should not, say.

The characters go by different names in the various tribal cultures and often have similar characteristics, but not always. Iktomi might be considered evil in one culture while in another, he might walk as a Heyoka, a Lakota Sacred clown.

The characters are Gods or at least God like. They can be both good and bad. They can be killed, and they can easily come back to life again. Their stories usually try to tell or show a moral, often in their own perverse ways.

I, the author, personally like the Native American Indian, First People stories. I’ve read many of the ‘published’ Coyote and Iktomi stories and have seen many of the related, online videos. I keep searching and hoping for new stories all the time. 
Links to more Iktomi and Coyote stories:
https://aktalakota.stjo.org/lakota-legends/iktomi-and-coyote/
https://aktalakota.stjo.org/lakota_spirit_animal/coyote-sungmanitu/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY6iji29bMg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnu81eQsT1E
https://www.worldhistory.org/video/3145/iktomi-and-the-coyote/
https://history.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/coyote.pdf
http://web.archive.org/web/20220808062101/https://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-IL.html#082

Since I am not finding many new Coyote and Iktomi stories, I’ve written some for myself. Its likely that this story has similar story lines in other Coyote and Iktomi stories which I have not heard or read yet, but I have tried, within reason, to not copy known stories. To the best of my ability, I have also tried to not bring in a ‘white guy’s interpretation’ or new personality traits, changing the characters to something they are not, nor never were.  I generally try to stay within the Lakota’s versions of the characters because I live in the same region of the world.  

Iktomi and Coyote stories often start with either one, or the pair, ‘walking across the prairie’.